New police building moving right along

Published 9:46 pm, Monday, August 31, 2009

The furniture is in, the construction is finished and the new public safety complex is just about a month away from opening, officials said.

While a ribbon-cutting date has not yet been selected, police are anticipating the new facilities will open at the end of August.

"We do have a final list of things to do, which are very small, before we complete the site requirements," said Alan Monelli, the town's building superintendent. Those items include installing carbon monoxide detectors in the parking garage, fixing sinks and installing handrails and electrical outlets.

A final inspection has to be completed before the police can switch headquarters.

The Police Department has hired a contractor to outfit the new building and is setting up the communications systems, including the new digital radio network.

"The building was not supposed to be turned over until September of this year," said Monelli. "We've already passed that (point) and we've been working inside (the building)."

Police officials said the new building will provide greater security and much needed space compared to the older, outdated building. One of the safety features the new building will have is a sally port area, a small, controlled space that can be used by police when transporting criminals from headquarters to outside facilities. The new building, directly behind the old station, will also have a larger cell area capable of holding more prisoners. A new public safety parking garage has also been built.

Police Chief David Ridberg said earlier this year he expects a seamless transition from one building to the other because operations cannot shut down for a day.

Monelli said the vacant police building may be gutted in the future as part of renovations under next year's building budget to accommodate the Fire Department's administrative offices. The offices are currently on Holly Hill Road.